Where Are Car Tires Made?

Consumer Reports has tested 137 tire models over the past three years (totaling about 1,000 individual tires) from 27 different countries. Even brands with a strong national identity, such as Goodyear (U.S.) and Pirelli (Italy) have manufacturing facilities across the globe. The significance of this takes on a new light with new tariffs, which may affect the cost for certain brands and models. In the longer term, it may affect where tires are made. 

Among the tires purchased for testing, more models were manufactured in the U.S. than anywhere else (34 of the 137). That number has risen in recent years as more factories have been constructed in America.

We’ve bought tires manufactured in the U.S. from Arctic Claw, BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper, Falken, Firestone, General, Goodyear, GT Radial, Hankook, Michelin, Mickey Thompson, Nitto, Nokian, Toyo, and Yokohama. 

We bought four Pirelli models. Three were from Brazil and one from Mexico, but none from Italy, where the company is headquartered.

The tires that have filled our tire shop these past three years have come from Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, U.S., and Vietnam. It’s striking that the range of countries here is far more varied than for cars we’ve tested over the same time. 

Years ago, when we did a similar dive into the origins of our tested tires, we found that some categories were more frequently from the U.S. than others. Unsurprisingly, this was the case with SUV and truck tires. But this time there’s no clear trend. Tires come from all over. 

And our test results show that national bragging rights have no traction. There’s no connection between where a tire is made and how it performs. But the factory location may have an impact on costs going forward due to tariffs, either for the model or the brand as a whole. Given how diverse the sourcing is for tires, the costs will likely be reflected in the price of all tires, potentially not giving any brand a particular price advantage. 

Savvy consumers are best served choosing replacement tires based on our ratings, factoring in the predicted tread life and cost, rather than judging a tire by its country of origin.